LOS ANGELES, Dec. 16, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Los Angeles World Airports marks 100 years of aviation progress since the Wright Brothers' first flight and Los Angeles International Airport's (LAX's) 75th anniversary with a Centennial of Flight Festival on Wednesday, Dec. 17 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The day will begin with a commemorative ceremony featuring five historic aircraft types once used to provide commercial passenger service at LAX and the sealing of an aviation-related time capsule.
The vintage aircraft will arrive this afternoon (Tuesday) and early Wednesday at the Flight Path Learning Center aviation historical museum in the LAX Imperial Terminal at 6661 West Imperial Highway. (Open to media and invited guests only due to limited parking and viewing area/seating).
The airplanes represent the significant passenger aviation advances of their respective eras. The aircraft are the 1920s-era Ford Tri-Motor, an early passenger aircraft; the Douglas DC-3, the first commercially viable airliner; the Lockheed Constellation, a post-World War II airliner capable of carrying 81 passengers; the Boeing 707, the first successful passenger jet; and the wide-body Boeing 747, a "workhorse" in today's commercial passenger air service.
Following the ceremony, the Festival of Flight opens at 10 a.m. at Metered Parking Lot 6, next to the Theme Building and Terminal 6 in the LAX Central Terminal Area. Passengers and the general public are invited to visit the free festival featuring live music, give-aways, display booths, and a "theater" tent showing two specially commissioned videos on the first 100 years of controlled, powered flight. Pre-schoolers, who aspire to be budding pilots, can visit the play area featuring pedal-powered airplanes. Los Angeles Airport Police will demonstrate for visitors the capabilities of their canine corps in detecting explosives.
Other exhibitors include the Los Angeles Chapter of Tuskegee Airmen, the first all African-American U.S. Army Air Corps Unit formed during World War II; the Federal Aviation Administration on air traffic control; Hudson Booksellers with aviation-related publications; Flight Path Learning Center photo exhibit of celebrities who have passed through LAX; and several U.S. Department of Homeland Security agencies with travel and other safety tips; and passenger-service organizations Travelers Aid Society of Los Angeles and USO.
Live entertainment will be provided by local professional and amateur groups, including the Compton High School Choir, Orville Wright Middle School dancers, Gregg Young & The 2nd Street Band, accordionist Nick Ariondo, violinist Robert Korda, and United We Stand choir (comprised of Transportation Security Administration security screeners).
The festival will continue until 4 p.m. Paid parking is available in adjacent parking structures.
Los Angeles International Airport is joining airports around the United States to commemorate the Dec. 17, 1903, pioneering powered flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. These airports and the Airports Council International -- North America are holding public events, such as LAX's Centennial of Flight Festival, to thank passengers for their role in the growth of commercial aviation.
More than 1.5 billion passengers have used LAX since it opened for commercial service December 1946. The airport was founded in 1928.